The David L. Johansen Papers consists of approximately .74 cubic feet of reports, photographs, patents, letters of commendation and film created or collected by Johansen chronicling his career from the early 1960s through the 1980s. They document Johansen's engineering innovations with the majority of the documents concerning the Apollo three man couch.
David L. Johansen was born in 1937 in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1960, he began working as an engineer for Parker Aircraft. The following year, he accepted a position from Weber Aircraft Corporation of Burbank, California. During his thirteen year tenure, he subcontracted to NASA and helped develop ejection seats for the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV), the Gemini spacecraft, the Apollo three man crew couch and restraint system. The latter was designed to support and restrain three crewmen during all phases of the mission from launch to landing. He later worked for H. Koch & Sons and retired as the Director of Engineering for Arrowhead Puritas Waters, Incorporated.
Identifier
NASM.2025.0038
Date
1959-1987
Provenance
Michael Darrow, Gift, 2025, NASM.2025.0038
Extent
.74 Cubic feet
Archival Repository
National Air and Space Museum Archives
Scope and Contents
The David L. Johansen Papers consists of approximately .74 cubic feet of reports, photographs, patents, letters of commendation and film created or collected by Johansen chronicling his career from the early 1960s through the 1980s. They document Johansen's engineering innovations with the majority of the documents concerning the Apollo three man couch.
Arrangement note
This collection consists of two series:
Series 1: Documents, 1959-1987 and undated
Series 2: Audio Visual, 1964-1981 and undated
The items are contained with each series are arranged chronologically.
Rights
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Restrictions
No restrictions on access
Citation
The David L. Johansen Papers, Acc. NASM.2025.0038, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Topics
Aeronautics Apollo Project Pilot ejection seats Gemini Project